


The Demon Of Jitsugen

by No1fan15



Category: Dragon Ball
Genre: I AM FORCEFULLY REMOVED FROM THE CRANE SCHOOL, M/M, Oni - Found, Oni Yamcha, Sexuality - out, Third eye - Opened, burn so slow it's fucking embers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-21
Updated: 2018-11-21
Packaged: 2019-08-07 16:33:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,121
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16412006
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/No1fan15/pseuds/No1fan15
Summary: The Crane students are trained all their lives to fight, kill, and protect the local village from demons known as Oni.One day their most respected warrior finds himself sneaking an injured Oni into the school.How did this happen?





	The Demon Of Jitsugen

The Jitsugen Mountains were known for two things. 

One was the Oni that lived around it. Demons who struck without warning nor mercy whenever they wished. 

Second was the school of martial artists trained to protect those who lived nearby. The students of the Crane school had a mastery over their Ki that was unmatched across the land. 

 

On this particular morning the schools star pupil awoke with a start as the sound of a bell rang out into the air. Tien spent a second gathering his willpower and then sat up into a slumped but technically upright position. Normally he'd have no issues getting up right away but lately he'd been off his schedule. He blamed it on the increased rate of Oni attacks. With that thought in mind he stretched and stood up from his sleeping mat. The masters wouldn't treat him kindly if he showed up late to their summons. After putting on his robes he made his way down the quiet wooden hallways and into the main room. The masters were seated at their usual spot at the end of the grand hall and he knelt in front of them in greeting. Master Tao motioned for him to rise. He did so and waited for instructions.  

"Tenshinhan. There's an Oni attack on the village currently in progress. The new students were unable to handle it. We're sending in you and a couple of the other more experienced ones." said Master Shen. Tien bowed towards the masters and headed outside. He had been correct. The Oni were true demons for forcing him to get up this early. He shelved his complaints and took a deep breath. He wouldn't get anything done by being snarky. It didn't take long to reach the front gate. He teamed up with two of the other elite students before heading down towards the village. 

 

"How many Oni are we expecting?" Tien asked.

 

 

 

"Maybe twenty or so. They're stronger than the previous attacks." replied the student to his left. He was man even taller than Tien named Shinto. Loyal to a fault. 

"Don't worry about that. We just need to keep everyone safe." said the other one. She was a young woman named Chi. A rebel in technique but almost unmatched in power. 

Anyone looking from a distance could have confused the three for identical triplets. It was only clear when close up that they were different people. Chi was the shortest and had a more feminine figure than the others. Shinto had a small goatee and was easily over six and a half feet tall. Tien was in the middle, nothing particularly remarkable about him besides the unique symbol on his robes. All three of them had heads shaved bald and a small horizontal slit on their foreheads. That slit was the beginning of a third eye. None of them had managed to open theirs yet. It took an immense amount of training and meditation, their masters had told them, and none of them had reached whatever requirement was needed.

 

They arrived at the village entrance and immediately sensed the demons. The Oni were easy to find and easier to dispose of. Tien found it odd. There was usually more resistance. The attempts to stop them earlier must have weakened their forces. 

"They don't seem all that strong to me." Chi remarked while slicing down an Oni.

"Maybe their leader was taken out." Shinto suggested as he searched for any stragglers.

"Whatever the case is, we can't let our guard down, stay focused." Tien ordered. He reached out his Ki and did one last sweep of the area. He could feel a few very faint Oni presences. "You two search the other side of the village. I'll finish up here."

"Can do, boss man!" Chi said with a smirk. She ran off to grab Shinto. Tien continued his search of one of the now ruined houses and felt the Ki of an Oni behind it. As he walked closer to it he felt like something was off. Oni were quiet when they hunted and hid. They snuck up on you and cut you down from the shadows. Every Crane student was taught this. Tien had seen it.

So why could he hear crying?

 

"Who's there?" he said as he rounded the corner. He had expected to find a villager being held hostage or perhaps trapped under the rubble. What he found instead was an Oni curled up against the wall and bleeding. It was the source of the sobs he had heard. It looked up at him when he appeared. Tien could see it was terrified and rightfully so.

It had an enormous wound on its right side that was leaking blood at a scarily fast pace. There were also two or three fresh slashes on its face but it was hard to tell through the blood how bad they were. Various other bruises and scrapes covered the rest of its visible skin. It had two short horns growing from its forehead that were coloured a deep red in contrast to its black hair. The only clothes it bore were thin fabric pants that stopped just below the knees. Normally Tien would have only noted the appearance of the Oni so he could remember it for later documentation. This time things were different. He could see the emotion on the creatures face and it had an effect on him. This Oni didn't want to die.

_"It's only a demon. It's tricking you."_  he tried to reason with himself. No matter how hard he tried, however, he couldn't help but feel pity for the Oni. He stepped a little closer and the Oni curled up in response. It winced in pain and pressed one hand against its side.

"You're here to kill me." it said. Its voice revealed it to be a male Oni. Tien knelt down in front of the Oni as he glared at him.

"I am." he said. The Oni's glare grew stronger.

"So do it already." he growled. He did his best to sit up properly. "C'mon three eyes. Hurry it up."

"Three eyes?" Tien absentmindedly raised a hand to his forehead. Normally he'd feel the closed eyelid that sat there. This time he ended up poking himself in his newly acquired third eye. For a few seconds he was motionless. His third eye had opened. After all his hard work and meditation it opened now? It was so sudden he felt almost numb. There were far too many questions running through his mind to ever be answered. Why now? What had caused it? The Oni raised an eyebrow.

"You're toying with me. I saw what you did to the others. Stop torturing me and do your fucking job." he spat. Tien recovered enough from the shock of his third eye suddenly being opened to shake his head.

"This is new. It's always been closed until now.... did you do this?" he asked. The Oni scoffed.

"Do you honestly think I'd do anything to help you? Just kill me already." he mumbled. Tien studied the Oni's face closer. He hadn't had time to clear his tears and they mixed with the blood running down his face. Tien reached towards the Oni. He flinched as Tien's hand came close but seemed surprised when he wasn't immediately killed. Instead, Tien wiped away the blood and tears  as best he could.

"What the hell are you doing to me?" the Oni said shakily. Tien stayed silent. He wasn't quite sure himself. Mentally he was a mess. He had been trained his whole life to destroy Oni and yet this one must have done something that caused his third eye to open. So, with no idea what else to do, Tien broke the one silent rule of the Crane School. He helped the Oni. He channeled his Ki to his hand and used it to heal the wounds on the Oni's face. They weren't very deep but they were sure to scar. When he took his hand away the Oni was staring at him in disbelief.

"I healed you." Tien stated flatly, almost not believing it himself.

"Yeah, that's real nice and all, but why?" said the Oni. Tien shook his head.

"Honestly, I'm not sure. I do know this. I'm not going to kill you." he replied. The Oni was quiet for a moment longer before it burst into laughter. The laughs quickly turned into pained coughs and it hunched over again.

"So you heal my face and then leave me to bleed out? You crane bastards are something else." he said once he got his breath back.

"I'm not leaving you." Tien snapped. The Oni tried to hide his fear.

"What? You gonna watch me die slow? Maybe drag me back to your little school to make a mockery out of me? Or...." he paused, looked Tien up and down, and looked a little more nervous. "...are you after my body? Planning to have your fun before I'm gone?" 

"Wha- NO!" Tien exclaimed, startled that the Oni would even suggest such such a thing. He regained his composure rather quickly. "I'm going to help you."

"..... you're lying." the Oni said quietly.

"You can think that if you want. It won't stop me." Tien said. He removed his outer robe and used it to bind the wound on the Oni's side. He then carefully wrapped his sash across the Oni's forehead to cover his horns. When he was finished the Oni looked just like a regular human. The only tip off was his sharp teeth and his Ki. Tien could fix one of those things.

"I'm going to shield your Ki now. No one will be able to tell you're an Oni." Tien explained while focusing his energy. A yellow-white aura appeared for a split second around the Oni's body before disappearing. He then carefully lifted the Oni from the ground and held him bridal style.

"When we get to the school you're a traveler that's new to the area. You were passing through the village when the Oni attacked and didn't get the evacuation warning. You got injured and hid. I found you and healed you as best I could. Now I'm taking you back with me for medical care as none of the villagers can treat a Oni inflicted wound of your size."

"If I didn't know any better I'd say you planned this." the Oni grumbled. Tien looked down at him.

"What's your name?" he asked. The Oni looked up with a scowl.

"Why do you care?" he asked.

"I can't call you "the traveler" forever and others are going to ask." Tien said. "You can make one up if you don't have one."

"I do have one." the Oni said. "Don't feel like telling. I don't know your name either. I'll just call you Crane bastard."

"Fine by me." Tien said. "Should I call you demon trash? Maybe coward? Or weakling?"

"............."

The Oni was silent. Tien sighed and started walking towards the path to the school. He didn't need to get along with this Oni. He only needed to heal him enough so he'd live. Then Tien could ask him about the third eye thing. About halfway there he heard the Oni whisper something.

"It’s Yamcha."

"What?" Could you repeat that?" Tien said. The Oni glared at him again.

"My name. I said it's Yamcha." he mumbled. Tien couldn't help but smile slightly.

"Mine's Tenshinhan. Tien for short." he said. Yamcha looked at him for a few seconds before dropping his gaze.

"M'still gonna call you crane bastard." he said. Tien rolled his eyes and kept walking. The Oni had a name and Tien now knew that name. Progress.

 

He nearly tripped over his own feet as he realized what he was thinking. Progress? Progress on what? The only plan he had patched together so far was to heal the Oni and then release him once he got his information. His train of thought was derailed yet again as Chi and Shinto came running up to him.

"What happened? Who's that? Why are you carrying him?" Chi asked quickly.

"This is Yamcha, a traveler. He was seriously injured in the attack. I'm bringing him back to the school to be healed properly." Tien explained. Chi nodded, accepting his answer, and then gasped when she looked again at his face.

"Your eye!" she said, shocked. Shinto mirrored her expression.

"I know. It's new to me too." Tien said. Shinto stepped closer to examine it.

"What do you think made it open?" he said. Tien shrugged.

"I have no idea." he said. He noticed Chi was staring at Yamcha. The Oni was steadily ignoring her.

"You think it's because of him." Chi stated. Tien could feel a bit of panic starting to set in.

"What makes you say that?" he asked. Chi narrowed her eyes.

"You were always shit at using cloaking spells Tien. You're not fooling anyone but the newbies." she said. Shinto looked confused but after a second of focusing on Yamcha's Ki his eyes widened.

"Please tell me he's not what I think he is." Shinto said quietly, pointing at Yamcha. Tien considered coming up with a lie but against people this perceptive it was useless to try. He sighed and looked at the ground.

"Busted....." mumbled Yamcha in a weak sing song voice, sounding a tad smug.

"You had better have a good reason for bringing an Oni into the school." Chi said. She raised a hand and cast her own cloaking spell on Yamcha.

"You're not stopping me?" Tien asked, dumbfounded. Shinto gave him a nervous but kind smile and added his spell onto the pile of Ki surrounding Yamcha.

"We trust you Tien. If you're gonna do this then you have to have a good reason for it. I won't ask about it right now but I hope you'll tell me later." he said. Chi nodded in agreement. Tien smiled at his friends.

"Thank you. Both of you." he said.

"Kinda dying down here. If you're really planning on healing me you'd better hurry up, crane bastard." Yamcha piped up from Tien's arms. Chi laughed.

"You got a sassy one. Well done." she said teasingly.

"Let's just get back to the school. If we take too long the Masters will get suspicious." Shinto suggested. The others agreed and they finished their trek home.

 

Tien decided to keep his third eye closed. He would rather deal with the fallout from that after he figured out what to do with Yamcha. As soon as they got there Master Shen came storming out of the main building and into the yard.

"You should not have taken that long to compete your mission. What did - " Shen paused as he noticed Tien carrying Yamcha. "Who is that?"

"This is Yamcha. He's a traveler who was caught up in the Oni attack. None of the village healers are capable of healing a wound like his." Tien explained. He noticed that Yamcha had closed his eyes and was lying limp. He couldn't tell if the Oni was truly unconscious or faking it. Master Shen leaned in to examine the both of them. 

".... I see." Shen said after a moment. He raised an eyebrow. "I take it you're planning to heal him yourself?" 

"If you will allow it, Master." Tien said. Shen sighed. 

"I worry for that sentimental part of you sometimes, Tenshinhan. It will only get you into trouble." he said. "But I suppose you are the best equipped for this. Healing has always been your forte. You may help him as long as it doesn't affect your training." 

"Of course. Thank you Master." Tien replied with as much of a bow as he could manage without dropping Yamcha.

"I'll inform Tao. You may take the rest of the day to set things up. After that it's back to usual." Shen instructed. He returned to the dojo and Tien tired not to sigh in relief. Shen hadn't noticed Yamcha was an Oni nor had he seen that Tien's third eye was open. It was about as much good luck as Tien could hope for. 

"You still conscious?" Tien asked. A very weak groan from Yamcha confirmed he could at least hear him. "Try to stay that way until I can get some proper bandages on you." 

 

He quickly made his way to his room and gently set Yamcha down on the floor. He peeled back the now bloodstained cloth covering Yamcha's side and winced when he saw the damage. An intricate circle of glowing yellow energy was embedded in his flesh. A rune, magic used to dispel evil, and by the looks of it a powerful one at that. Tien hadn't been taught this level of spell yet and he'd been training for years. What kind of newbie was sent to the village who had that kind of power? He would have to find that out later. Right how his main concern should be how to remove the rune from Yamcha's side. The energy would seep into his system and slowly poison him if he didn't die from bleeding out first. 

"So how long until I get to accept the sweet embrace of death?" Yamcha mumbled. 

"That depends." Tien said. 

"On what?" said Yamcha. 

"How long do Oni usually live?" Tien said. Yamcha scoffed. 

"You really don't expect to heal me completely, do you?" he said. "We both know this thing was made to kill my kind." 

"That's true but fortunately it does so slowly." Tien said. "I have time to figure this out." 

"Great, I get to die slowly and painfully rather than just painfully. What fun." Yamcha groaned. 

"Could you add "quietly" to that list?" Tien grumbled. 

Yamcha continued glaring at him but said nothing. Tien directed his attention to the rune once more. The usual comforting yellow glow now filled him with a sickly unease. The density of the light made it clear that there were several layers to the magic and most of it was in the center. A cone shaped bolt of energy that dug in deep and wouldn't let go without hours of work. Tien stifled a sigh and stood up.

"Stay here. I'll get something to clean this with."

"Well shit, and I was planning on leaving." Yamcha said sarcastically. 

"Just keep your horns covered." Tien said. Yamcha grumbled something inaudible but probably snarky if Tien had to hazard a guess. He carefully shut the door behind him and started walking towards the infirmary. He'd grab what he needed from there and then find whomever made that rune. 

 

At least things couldn't get any worse. 


End file.
